Podyjí-Thayatal National Park

How many national parks are there – one, or two? It’s hard to say. Although today we can travel freely through a borderless Europe, talking of bilateral border areas, each of the two national parks continues to have a life of its own.

Soon after the fall of the Iron Curtain, on July 1st 1991, the Podyjí national park was founded on the Czech side of the border. It might sound absurd, but it actually owes its existence to the Iron Curtain. In the deserted border zone, there was no mass tourism and the animal and plant world was largely left in peace. When this area (64 square kilometres) received the status of a national park, it was fortunate enough to be granted a special status of protection. Even today, intact nature with a very well-preserved and richly wooded landscape along the river Thaya awaits you on your hikes. In a rather small area, you will find an incredible variety of unique plant and animal life.

The Austrian Thayatal National Park was founded a few years after the Czech Podyjí National Park, on January 1st, 2000. Although significantly smaller (with a surface area of ​​13,3 square kilometres), it is no less interesting.

Enjoy videos from both national parks below – documentary films made by Czech Television in the years 2011–2012.

Back to the Wilderness – Podyjí-Thayatal National Park

Wilderness Without Borders – Podyjí-Thayatal National Park

See and experience the beauty of the Podyjí-Thayatal National Park yourself.

We have been doing everything to offer our guests an environmentally friendly service for ten years already. Our guesthouse is located in the vicinity of the National park Podyjí-Thayatal and we were awarded the EU Eco-label in 2007 – as the first guesthouse in Moravia! Come and visit us, we are looking forward to meet you!

We can highly recommend Pension Jelen. We have been coming here since 2004 and always experienced great comfort and perfect service according to our wishes. We have been always returning here with great pleasure, sometimes together with our children. We gather strength here and relax every autumn. Mrs.Vrbová is a very nice hostess, always eager to fulfil every wish. There is an excellent little wine cellar, the guesthouse has a quiet location and a breathtaking view of the chateau. We highly recommend a stay here. Thank you for the time we could spend here.